xwpseaweird - Tumblr blog

[xwpseaweird]

MAUREEN O'HARA: A WOMAN OF BEAUTY, STRENGTH, & DIGNITY

In Memory of The Queen of Technicolor

In loving memory of one of Ireland's greatest gifts to cinema, The O'Hara Collection is devoted to the films and collective works of actress, Maureen O'Hara. The goal of this blog is to showcase her wonderful spirit and shed light on her glorious career as one of the Golden Age's finest. Later dubbed The Queen of Technicolor, O'Hara not only dressed her films with her fiery red hair and brilliant green eyes, but she also had a talent for acting that even rivaled her beauty. There will never be another like her.

Maureen O'Hara was born August 17th, 1920. She passed October 24th, 2015. She was 95 years old.

Interviews and commentary sampled from the following featurettes: -A Tribute to Maureen O'Hara with Hayley Mills, Juliet Mills, and Ally Sheedy -The Making of The Quiet Man (hosted by Leonard Maltin) -The Making of Rio Grande (written and hosted by Leonard Maltin)

Song: Maggie's Theme from The Parent Trap Soundtrack

Films Used In Order of Appearance: Lisbon (1956) w/ Ray Milland Jamaica Inn (1939) w/ Charles Laughton The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) w/ Charles Laughton How Green Was My Valley (1941) w/ Walter Pidgeon Against All Flags (1952) w/ Errol Flynn The Black Swan (1942) w/ Tyrone Power Spencer's Mountain (1963) w/ Henry Fonda Our Man in Havana (1959) w/ Alec Guinness Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation (1962) w/ Jimmy (James) Stewart The Parent Trap (1961) w/ Hayley Mills The Quiet Man (1952) w/ John Wayne The Rare Breed (1966) w/ Juliet Mills McLintock! (1963) w/ John Wayne Rio Grande (1950) w/ John Wayne The Wings of Eagles (1957) w/ John Wayne Only the Lonely (1991) w/ Ally Sheedy & John Candy

[xwpseaweird]

OUR MAN IN HAVANA (1959)

Maureen O'Hara & Alec Guinness Delight in this Spy Comedy

A tribute to Our Man In Havana released 1959 starring Maureen O'Hara (The Parent Trap) and Alec Guinness (Star Wars). This is a truly wonderful film full of quirky humor, intrigue, and creative cinematography. If you are a fan of British comedy and artistic films then I highly recommend it.

Synopsis: "British expatriate Jim Wormold runs a vacuum cleaner store in Havana, Cuba. He has promised his vain daughter, Milly, a horse and a country club membership, which leaves him desperate for money. When Hawthorne proposes he become a paid British agent and recruit other spies, he accepts, and haplessly embarks on a new career. Though he's delighted when he meets gorgeous fellow spy Beatrice Severn, Wormold finds he's now a target."

Song is Hey Pachuco by Royal Crown Revue (the version used in the 1994 film The Mask).

[xwpseaweird]

|| THE QUIET MAN ||

John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara Mesmerize in this Classic Romance

The above tribute is dedicated to June Beck, founder of Maureen O'Hara Magazine.

Synopsis: "A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union." -IMDB

The Quiet Man (1952) is a film directed by John Ford (How Green Was My Valley) and stars John Wayne (True Grit, The Searchers) and Maureen O'Hara (The Parent Trap, Miracle on 34th Street). This is the second film Wayne and O'Hara starred in together, the first being Rio Grande, which Ford also directed. Wayne and O'Hara had amazing chemistry on screen and made five films together in total, the rest being Wings of Eagles, McLintock!, and Big Jake. The Quiet Man is seen as the more successful of their films, having achieved the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and Best Directing in 1953.

John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara remained great friends until his death in 1979.

The song in the tribute is Into the Mystic by Van Morrison.

Notes: As with most old films, there are some things that may not have aged well, but were considered fine for the time period. One thing is the jokes about beating women who misbehaved with sticks. While no one was actually beat with a stick in the film, it was joked about. O'Hara's character, Mary Kate, was a redhead with a noted fearful temper. It was implied that she needed a good stick whipping to keep her in line, but Wayne's character never did. It was a sign that he had no issues with her being full of fire. The fact that these jokes exist doesn't diminish the fact that this movie is wonderful. I will always highly recommend it.

Fun Fact: At one point during filming, O'Hara hit John Wayne for real after their first big kiss. The punch was scripted, but she didn't pull it. Wayne saw it coming and blocked her punch with his hand. The impact of her fist with his palm caused her wrist to fracture. She literally broke her wrist and kept filming. O'Hara prided herself on being able to keep up with the men. She never let anything they threw at her bring her down. This is one reason why John Ford repeatedly used her in his films and why John Wayne loved working with her.

[xwpseaweird]

SOMEWHERE IN TIME

A timeless romance starring Jane Seymour & Christopher Reeve

A tribute to Somewhere In Time (1980) starring the beautiful Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman) and the late great Christopher Reeve (Superman).

Synopsis: "In 1972, playwright Richard Collier (Christopher Reeve) becomes fascinated by a photo of Elise McKenna (Jane Seymour), a turn-of-the-century stage actress, while staying at the Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan. As Richard's obsession grows, he learns from a friend that time travel may actually be possible through hypnosis. Richard travels in time to meet Elise, and the two appear destined to be together. However, Elise's jealous manager (Christopher Plummer) attempts to keep them apart." Fun Fact: Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve had a rather intense love affair behind the scenes of this film. To quote Jane, they fell "madly in love." The looks, touches, and chemistry they had on screen was believable for a reason. Their affair came to an abrupt end when Reeve's ex-girlfriend revealed to him that she'd been hiding a pregnancy and was about to give birth to his child. Christopher ended his romantic relationship with Jane as a result, making a point that he needed to do what he thought best...be a father and partner to the mother of his child. Jane recounted that, while she did her best to understand, the news crushed her and she fought back tears during one of their final scenes together on set. Despite how their romantic relationship ended, the two remained very close. If things had gone differently, if Reeve hadn't received the new of his ex's pregnancy, perhaps he and Jane would have went on to enjoy a lasting partnership together. We will never know and, perhaps, that's how it should be.

This film features a memorable score by John Barry, yet the song I chose is Where Does My Heart Beat Now by Celine Dion. It is a song I feel describes the relationship of Elise and Richard perfectly. Hopefully you enjoy it :)

[xwpseaweird]

STARSHIP TROOPERS || Welcome to the Jungle

[xwpseaweird]

Jet Li in Kiss of the Dragon (2001)

Pretty much what the title says, a tribute to Jet Li and Kiss of the Dragon. I've been wanting to make a video this film for awhile. I hope you enjoy :)

[xwpseaweird]

The Ring Trilogy | Xena: Warrior Princess [Teaser Trailer]

The Ring Trilogy is a series of episodes in the sixth and final season of Xena: Warrior Princes that covers Xena's past as a Valkyrie of Valhalla. Norse Warrior Beowolf approaches her for help to defeat Grindl, a viscous monster unleashed by her past corruption and greed. A path of redemption forces her to track Grindl down and retrieve a destructive ring forged from the sacred and powerful Rheingold, a ring Xena herself created decades earlier.

Trailer is also available here.

A full scale tribute is coming soon.

The audio gave me some trouble on this one. I wound up having to replace and add a few sound effects to improve the quality and get the look/feel I was going for. The dialogue was also difficult to isolate and keep crisp, so I apologize if it is a little low or muffled. I'm working to improve it more on the full tribute.

[xwpseaweird]

A Top Tier 80's Romance That Many Have Never Seen

TWO LOVERS. ONE CHANCE. NO TIME.

A tribute to the film FIRE WITH FIRE starring Virginia Madsen and Craig Sheffer. A young man serving time at a parole camp falls in love with a young woman at a nearby Catholic school. Instant attractions brings them together and sparks a fire that forces them on the run from the law, the church and their parents. This is a film with amazing chemistry that provides very real and captivating performances from Madsen and Sheffer. It also offers beautiful cinematography and direction from Duncan Gibbins. Despite this, the film flew under the radar as it went up against other films like Top Gun and Short Circuit released in May of 1986. If you've never heard of this film and enjoy a good romance, then I highly suggest this one.

Inspired by true events. Song: Slave to Love by Bryan Ferry (featured in both this film and 9 1/2 Weeks)

[xwpseaweird]

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS | UNBOUND | XENA & GABRIELLE [IN HD]

A sensual tribute to Xena & Gabrielle from Xena: Warrior Princess upscaled to HD.

These two are so incredibly beautiful together ❤️

Song: Unbound (Glen Ballard Mix)

Artist: Robbie Robertson

[xwpseaweird]

Return of Callisto DVD Commentary 

[xwpseaweird]

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS | ENIGMA | XENA & GABRIELLE

Not sure why my creative juices led me to create this short edit, but alas, here we are. I was really hooked on Neoclassical music around the time I first started watching this show, which was probably weird for someone my age. One of my first core memories is waking up to this song playing on late night informercials after falling asleep with the TV on. Also available on YouTube here.

Song is Return to Innocence by Enigma.

[xwpseaweird]

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle

"Her understated portrayal of constant wounded warranted rage was so visceral. She was a consistent CSI that always did her job even when it was soul-destroying: she woke up and went to fight her demons everyday. This grit and fortitude brought out a reaction from everyone in the audience. No other character has as much emotion, love or hate, as Sara.

We see her righteous outrage at the world she must endure, and we either see ourselves or we reject her. It is polarizing. What a brilliant work of acting." -u/plotthick

Song is Muddy Waters by LP.

[xwpseaweird]

Immortal (Ad Vitam): A woman from another world and a human man released from cryogenic hibernation are brought together by an almighty power; An Egyptian God whose sole purpose is to impregnate a mortal woman in an effort to cheat death.

[xwpseaweird]

The Most Ambitious Sci-Fi Film You've Never Seen | Immortal (Ad Vitam)

A tribute to one of the strangest science fictions I've ever seen. A fascinating dystopian cyberpunk film.

Immortal (Ad Vitam) is an English language, French live-action film that was released in 2004. It was directed by Enki Bilal and is loosely based on his graphic novel The Carnival Of Immortals. It stars French model Linda Hardy as Jill, German actor Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted, The Pianist) as Nikopol, and English actress Charlotte Rampling (Orca) as Elma. The film was simultaneously filmed in French and English (one take in each language) so it could be released to a broader audience without the need to do voice dubbing afterward. You may be asking why this film is so ambitious? Well, Immortal is one of the first films to be filmed with full blue screen. This means that all the outside environments, cars, and some people were digitally rendered. These renders were done by Quantic Dream, makers of the video game Heavy Rain. The entire film was a huge undertaking for a novice director and a digital company that had little experience at the time.

The film overall wasn't considered a commercial success, but it has a devoted following for those who've followed the novels. The mix of CGI and live action can be a bit jarring to some and the plot can be difficult to follow upon one viewing. That being said, it is definitely worth checking out for any Sci-Fi fan. I saw this film for the first time 20 years ago and it stuck with me. I would describe it like an indie Fifth Element that could have benefitted from a longer run time to flesh things out more.

The song is They by Jem.

NOTE: Though I've not included it in the tribute video, the film does deal with the topic of assault and there are characters that are not morally just. This is just for awareness should you decide to seek the film out. It is still a fascinating film in my opinion.

[xwpseaweird]

FRASIER | Niles & Daphne

A tribute to Niles & Daphne from Frasier. One of TVs greatest love stories.

[xwpseaweird]

FRASIER, Season 3, Episode 13 "Moon Dance"

[xwpseaweird]

UNDERWORLD || Kate Beckinsale as SELENE

A tribute to Kate Beckinsale as vampire Selene of the Underworld franchise.